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Reference microphone clipping during measurements

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Matthew Martinez Follow
Updated

So I've run into this issue during the first few phases of Reference 4 measure when it's telling me to adjust the microphone gain to the proper level for the rest of the measurements. I'm using the XREF20, but it seems like even at the bare minimum amount of gain that Reference 4 Measure deems acceptable (any lower and I can't proceed to the next step because the software is telling me to increase the mic gain), I'm getting clipping and distortion during the next phase of measurements where it asks you to hold the mic 1-2cm away from the center of the speaker driver. It only happens on the first two sine wave sweeps and then it's fine as they decrease in volume throughout the next few repetitions.

Am I missing something? I've tried different combinations of increasing/decreasing the volume of my monitors and the mic gain. Is it just supposed to clip for the first two sweeps on each speaker?

Thanks for the help.

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    Chris

    Hey Matthew,

    Thank you for the question!
    The output level should be set in a way that the test tone on the I/O setup page would be set up to be conversational volume.

    Are you still experiencing this issue?

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    Merlijn

    HI there Matthew, 

    I am new to Sonarworks and I've had the same. Everything was set fine but during measurements at the 1-2 cm measurements my interface also goes into the red.

    have you already found a sollution? I work in a music store and I've asked a collegue if this is normal and he says it isn't a big issue if it doesn't clip to hard. It is just a measurement not a recording.

     

     

     

    kind regards.

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    Jonathan

    Hi Matthew,

     

    I've got the same problem.

    Speakers louder & mic input lower, or speakers lower and mic input higher, but it still seems to clip.
    I'm using an RME UFX with Yamaha HS7 speakers and the XREF20 Mic and using the updated SoundID Reference.

    Is it possible there is a narrow sweetspot to be found? Could a SPL meter help?

     

    Kind regards,

    Jonathan

     

     

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    Kārlis Stenders

    Hi guys, thanks for the new comments!

     

    It is completely fine for the mic gain to go all that way up into red on your interface. The measurement mic is very thirsty for gain - on many interfaces, you will have to go all the way up to 3/4 of available gain, or even higher.

     

    This might seem like clipping, but it is actually not - should be perfectly fine, as long as you have the output volume and input gain in a healthy balance between one and another.

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